


Escapism Spoilers: The Waiting

by Jayalaw



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cooking, Diamond Days, Escapism spoilers, Gen, Pizza, Spoilers, Steven Universe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 03:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayalaw/pseuds/Jayalaw
Summary: A lifetime ago, Steven made pizza with Bismuth. Now she makes it again, for his dad and uncle.





	Escapism Spoilers: The Waiting

_Do NOT read if you haven’t caught up on the latest Steven Universe episodes!  
_

Rolling out dough and adding toppings wasn’t that hard for Bismuth. She turned her arm into a rolling pin. Pearl had labeled all the ingredients in the fridge, but even without that Bismuth could remember what Steven had provided. He had also made cooking videos; Greg showed them on the laptop that Connie had loaned his son. Laptop. Not that much different from a peridot’s communicator.

Peridot. Lapis. Bismuth stared at the gems on the kitchen table. They lay in a neat row, unmoving. She was trying not to worry. Lapises were upper-crust court gems, and Peridots were built to last. They would reform when they were ready.

“What kind of man lets his son go and fight battles in space?!” Andy roared from outside. “That kid’s gonna get himself killed!”

“If anyone can convince the Diamonds, it’s Steven,” Greg said. “The problem is humans don’t matter to most Gems. Garnet tried to throw me over the fence the first night I met Rose!”

Bismuth winced. She had met Andy at the wedding. Bismuth and Peridot the night before Garnet’s wedding had introduced themselves to each other, once Ruby, Sapphire and Pearl managed to unwrap their hugs from Bismuth’s arms. Peridot had tried on the yellow dress Steven had gotten for her. Bismuth showed off her armor, her nicest clothes. Once, they might have fought on opposite sides of the war. But now they were jabbering, about their experiences as Crystal Gems. It seems they had a lot in common. Like Steven.

Today, she had managed to rebuild the kitchen, so that Greg wouldn’t have to order pizza from town again. Not that Bismuth minded the pizza from that family; she had enjoyed the slices they had ordered. But she wanted to have the Gems’ home standing in one  piece, for Pearl to see.

She added slices of pepperoni, a gift from Greg’s cousin Andy. She smiled wistfully. A lifetime ago, she had done this with Steven, the same meatball that had poofed her, revived her, and told her the truth about Rose. That had been a fun afternoon. Even though Bismuth regretted what she had done that evening, she still liked making pizza. It was not that different from melting metal to forge a new weapon, or rings for Garnet.

She leaned against the oven. The temperature rose to the exact four hundred degrees that she needed. Outside, musical notes drifted on the wind.

“Hey Greg,” she called. “Dinner will be ready in forty-five minutes, according to the instructions.”

“Bring it out here when it’s done,” he called back. He sat on the temple cliffs, eyes on the horizon. Bismuth loaded the pizza onto a sheet of foil and slid it onto the oven. Then she closed the tiny metal door. It made a satisfying clang. Already the dough sizzled and smelled like salty butter. Lion appeared at the screen door. He started nosing his way to the oven.

“Hold it, Lion.” Bismuth stood in front of the oven door. “You have to wait, like the rest of us.”

#

Greg was still playing guitar to the water; Andy had stopped yelling at him and was sitting. Which made no sense to Bismuth, because Steven and the others had gone into space. They ought to be looking at the stars, to chart the path. Still, she didn’t know much about humans, even after having encountered them six thousand years ago. The crowd that had come to Garnet’s wedding had been full of surprises.

Bismuth had met one who had worn golden armor; she had offered to upgrade it and teach him how to spar. They would meet in a few days, assuming Steven and the others didn’t return by them. The Gems had to return. Bismuth believed that Steven could do it. She had heard him roar. He just had to roar louder.

Speaking of roars, Lion nudged his way past her hands. He had prowled the kitchen until the timer went off. Bismuth playfully wrestled with him. Lion bared his teeth and chewed on her hands.

“All right, you can have half.” She turned her hand into a slicer and cut the pizza for him. “But that means no seconds.”

Lion gave her a disdainful look and ran off with his dripping crescent. Bismuth cut the rest into equal portions, put them on the plates that hadn’t broken during the wedding fight, and went outside.   
“Hello,” she said to Greg, sitting next to him.

“Hey, Bismuth,” he said, strumming away.

“Hey,” Andy said.

“So, do you want pizza?” Bismuth asked Andy. The slices steamed on the plates she had brought from the house. “I followed the instructions Steven gave me. They’re still lava-hot though.”

“Wow, thanks!” Greg set the guitar on his lap.

“You got some for yourself?”

“Of course!” She balanced the plate on top of her apron. “Thanks for the pepperoni, Andy. I know it was for Steven, but Steven told me he loves it on pizza.”

Andy gave her a grumpy look. Then he took his plate.

“Good thing you didn’t make a vegetarian entree,” he said. “Broccoli on pizza is evil.”

Bismuth gave Greg a questioning look. Greg shrugged. Bismuth started on her own slice. She hadn’t done this in a while, eating and enjoying the sunset.

“You’re not like Steven’s other aunties,” Andy said. “We cooked a huge meal that was supposed to be traditional, and none of them wanted to eat it!”

Bismuth chuckled through a mouthful of pizza. She supposed “auntie” was a good term for the Gems. Maybe they could be the Crystal Aunties.

“That does sound like the Crystal Gems,” she said. “We were fighting so often, we mainly had time for singing and dancing. Biggs and Rose used to enjoy an occasional feast, though.”

“Rose did, sometimes.” Greg took smaller bits of his slice. “That was when she was pregnant with Steven, though. She had to eat for two.”

“She sounds like she was wonderful,” Andy said. “I wish I could have met her. Then I could have asked her why she fell for a goofball like you!”

He and Greg laughed. They ate in silence, watching the sun go down.

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Andy asked.

“Steven stopped the world from ending,” Greg said.

“Listen, I know we don’t know each other well.” Bismuth ran a hand through her hair. “I mean, what, we only met the night before Garnet’s wedding. Last time I was unbubbled, you were away.”

“I wish I had met you sooner,” Greg said honestly. “Steven would have loved growing up with you.”

“I’m surprised you’re okay, finding the truth about Rose. No one else has been.”

Greg blinked against the sunset. A breeze tugged at his tangled hair.

“I loved Rose, but I told her she didn’t have to tell me her past. There were things I didn’t tell her.That’s just how it was.”

“I guess so.“ Bismuth leaned back, feeling uncomfortable. Andy balanced his plate on his knees, listening.

“Maybe I should have pressed her for details,” Greg confessed. “But not about the big stuff. That would have hurt her. I sometimes wonder if it had changed things if I had known, but Rose Quartz fell in love with Greg Universe. She didn’t like talking about the war; I didn’t like talking about community college. She was worried we wouldn’t have enough time, because I’m human and she’s a Gem, and I’d grow old and become a wrinkled grandpa while she’d stay a giant pink haired mother. I don’t think we expected I’d be the one outliving her.” 

Even Andy didn’t respond to this snidely. He looked genuinely concerned.

"Tomorrow I can start working on the bedrooms,” Bismuth said, to change the topic. “Then you can get a proper night’s sleep.”

“I’m probably going to fly out once dishes are done,” Andy said. “I can patrol the skies in case more aliens come to Earth.” 

“I may take you up on that offer if that cold front blows in, though; the heater hasn’t worked in ages.” Greg dipped his fingers in the leftover sauce. “And so you won’t have to sleep alone.”

“I’m not alone; Steven left me his teddy bear.” Bismuth managed a smile. “But it will be nice for the house to not be so empty. Peridot and Lapis are taking their time.”

“It seems everyone is.” Greg looked to the stars. “It seems they are.”

Bismuth joined him in stargazing, and looking for planets they’d never visit. She couldn’t be Rose, or Pearl or Garnet. But she could be there for Steven’s family.


End file.
